Contrast

On Friday the thirteenth, Jay didn't have school. One of my favorite kinds of days: just me and my kids. Of course it's always best when Jeff is with us too, but my selfish side does enjoy having the kids all to myself every now and then, when they aren't being too crazy. At Jay's request, we drove 4-ish miles to Sunnyview Park to play that morning. Since Grandview has at least four really good parks, we rarely venture outside our own borders for park time, but a day off school deserves a little excitement, so we went out of town (barely, ha). It was a beautiful sunny day and the kids played and romped all over the place. The highlight was the rocks in the playground area--Grandview parks all use mulch, but Sunnyview Park uses rocks. The kids dug in the rocks, collected the rocks, and rolled handfuls of rocks down the slides (cool sound).

 Sending rocks down the curvy slide

Eventually we made our way across the big field to the skate park. Jay was in heaven, running up and sliding down the ramps. Rose had a bit of a harder time getting up in her no-grip boots--she picked her shoes and who was I to stop her wearing boots in 75 degree weather? Amber got tired and rested in the stroller while the big kids ran the ramps.

Dirty knees, rosy red cheeks, best friends.

When we got home from the park just after 11am, we filled up the freshly patched kids pool in the backyard (cue motherly-sternness whenever the kids whipped the hose spray towards me in my clothes--arg, it happened repeatedly before I retired indoors). They played and "swam" for another hour-plus and then I brought PBJ, carrots, and chocolate milk out onto the back porch for them to eat while they dried in the sunshine. I felt like it was one of those days that childhood is MADE of, you know? Park, freedom, water, picnic, and of course a post-lunch movie.

Contrast that blissful Friday the 13th with Tuesday the 17th: On the way home from soccer practice, Rose puked in the car and started completely freaking out about it. We were all hot and tired and her meltdown plus the rank scent of vomit wafting through the van were NOT happy or blissful in any way. Rose barfed a few more times that evening/night, and then I woke up feeling awful around 2am, finally dashing into the bathroom to hurl at 4:30am. I proceeded to barf 18 times over the next 8 hours and it was pure misery. In 11 hours, I heaved 19 times--a new record even for me. Can we say horrible pregnancy flashbacks? A few hours after I first puked, Jay started puking and pooping everywhere too. We were a mess. Jeff the superstar stayed home from work to take up the role of Wellness Jeff on Wednesday, only to contract the vicious plague himself on Thursday. I was utterly destroyed from my barfy day but Jeff was worse so I did my best to take care of the kids. Movies, movies, movies! Rose seemed to be on the mend until she suddenly spewed a vile smelling egg-y puddle on the carpet by her bed on Thursday night. I was so drained by then, I sobbed and cried while scrubbing it up. It was one of many low points this week.

Friday found us all limp, exhausted, and dehydrated. [Amber had the mildest case--hers came first on Monday night with a few little barfs and some lingering runs.] We all stayed holed up in our germ-infested Petri dish of a house and simply survived, sipping water, juice, and soup, and eating otter pops. My abs and entire trunk were achingly sore from all of that effort they put into expelling things from my stomach. On Friday I wondered if Jay would be interested in having his birthday cake and dinner the next day. I hobbled to the store, got the ingredients, and made a small birthday cake just in case.

{We had a very low-key, quarantined celebration for Jay's birthday. Pictures pending.}

Possibly the hardest time to be a parent is when both parents are sick at the same time as the kids. It was such a long hard week, but mere days before the illness descended, we were frolicking at the park and visiting the Twin Sisters. Looking at pictures from those two events, I can't help but marvel at our apparent ease and ignorance. We had no idea what was about to happen! Kind of like when I read a story set in 1928, I think "wow, they were so carefree--they had no idea what was coming next year!" (the Great Depression and all that) As much as I like to plan and prepare, I'm actually very glad that we never really know what's coming next. It helps me enjoy the moment!

Twin Sisters: 2016 edition

One of our favorite family outings in Eastern Washington is the Twin Sisters south of Pasco. From our house it takes a little less than an hour to drive there, so it's one of our nearest nifty nature sites. It feels like we've been there lots of times, but I was looking through old pictures and it turns out we have only been there three times in the seven years since we moved to this area: once in 2011 (when Jay was almost 2 and Rose was just 2 months old), once in 2013 (when Jay was 4 and Rose was 2), and then again last night (when Jay was almost 7, Rose was 5, and Amber was 1.5). I have been wanting to go to the Twin Sisters for a few weeks now, but the timing hasn't worked out. It's all too easy to overthink a simple family outing around here, because "simple outings" usually require a minimum of an hour in the car one way. That almost always encroaches on at least one meal as well as the kids' sleep.

2011

2013

But our printer is on the fritz and I needed to print out Jay's birthday interview, so I uploaded it online to be printed at the FedEx store in Kennewick, which is half an hour from the Twin Sisters. It was a last minute decision to make it a family outing for our Monday night family night. So I grabbed a few essentials (milk, crackers, diaper bag, camera, sunglasses), and we left at 4:30pm. I kept thinking "we're crazy! Driving an hour away from home at 4:30 on a school night!" But it was liberating! And exciting! I don't know what it is about last minute outings, but I love the spontaneity. There's no time to fret, overthink, or second guess. For once we left 7pm bedtime and dinner at home OUT of it and rolled out for a weeknight family adventure. We listened to Harry Potter #5 on CD while we drove. I picked up the birthday interview page, and we swung through the Arby's drive thru because it was in the same parking lot as the FedEx store. Overpriced roast beef sandwiches and curly fries all around! We were all fueled up and rarin' to go when we pulled into the small parking area at the Twin Sisters. Jay was quite reluctant to go on this entire excursion in the first place, but when he saw where we were, he immediately perked up and said "I remember this place!"

The late afternoon sun was pure gold, drenching everything in a warm glow. The temperature was in the seventies--perfect for lounging in the sand. We hiked the short trail to the rugged sandy area with views of the Twin Sisters, the Columbia River, rugged cliffs, sandy dunes, and various scrubby sage-y desert plants. It's basically a giant sandbox, and the kids can wander far and wide in relative safety.

Jumpin' Jay, age 7 minus a week

2013: Jumpin' Jay, age 4 and a week.

 Five-year-old Rose cautiously making the jump.

2013: Two-year-old Rose making the jump

A wider view of the sandy area 

 As the sun sank, shadows from the Twin Sisters slowly crept over our sandy area.

 Jeff took this artistic picture with the solitary basket awaiting its next mission. Jeff has such a good photographic eye--far superior to my own. I wish he could take all of our pictures!

 Rose thought she could slide down the edge of the sand dune-bowl, but it was more of a slow-mo-scoot, leaving a nice streak.

I love Amber's wide stance. Plant those feet! 

 Sand angels!

Jay and Rose dug quite the deep hole. We filled it in before we left. 

Jeff started playing around with the camera settings...

The camera got a tad sandy when I propped it up for these family pictures. 

The big hollowed out dish of sand where we played was barely visible until we were on its edge--it's hiding in the shadows in this picture.

Eventually we hiked up to the base of the basalt pillars themselves. This was Jay's and Rose's first time going up there. They were cautious and a little nervous about falling off the steep rocky edge, but they survived. I still can't believe Jeff made that steep climb with Amber on his back in the baby basket.

 We climbed up a little opening between the Twin Sister pillars so we could reach the maximum legal height.

It was a rush being up that high! We instructed Jay and Rose to tread very carefully--one slip could send them cascading down the side. It was slightly nerve-wracking to guide Rose around one of the pillars with that drop looming to the right. 

 Leaning on one of the Sisters, with the Columbia River in the background. Jay was concerned about the sheer dropoff in front of him.

Steep descent--the kids did lots of slipping in the rocky dust. 

Views, sand, sunshine, family--it was a beautiful afternoon. We got home at 8:30pm (gasp). About ten minutes before we arrived back home, Amber (who had been moaning for the majority of the drive) started barfing in the back seat. She stayed up till 11pm puking intermittently, poor girl. Goodbye, serenity. It was so good while it lasted!

{2013 and 2016}